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For release on delivery
10:30 a.m. EST
April 1, 2004

Remarks by

Ben S. Bernanke
Member
Board of Governors ofthe Federal Reserve System
to the
Jump$tart Coalition for Personal Financial Literacy
and
Federal Reserve Board
Joint News Conference
Washington, D.C.
April 1, 2004

Good morning and welcome to the Board Room. A little more than two weeks
ago, the Federal Open Market Committee gathered at this table and debated the future
course of monetary policy. Its statement afterward was transmitted instantly around the
globe to millions of people. Journalists, investors and others, understandably, thought of
the topics discussed around this table on that day as important. I wouldn't contradict that
assumption, but there is a sense in which our topic today--the financial education of our
young people--is even more important. Our economy can become ever more prosperous
and our financial system ever more sophisticated, but if our young people lack the
knowledge with which to make wise choices--for their present and their future--they will
not be able to share in the benefits of the advancing economy and financial system.
I say this not only from the perspective of a Federal Reserve policymaker, but as a
fonner economics professor, a former member of the Montgomery Township, New
Jersey, school board, and, most importantly, as the current parent of two young adults.
And, I know many others join me in the conviction that financial education is crucial.
This month has been designated by the Senate as Financial Literacy Month. Before I
continue, I want to acknowledge the presence here today of Representative Judy Biggert
of Illinois, one of the Congress's leading financial education advocates.
The Federal Reserve is involved with financial education on many fronts. Allow
me to mentionjust a few of our "products" and "services." Reserve Banks around the
country conduct workshops for teachers. The Board joined with the Federal Reserve
Bank of Richmond last summer in sponsoring one here, "Teaching Teens About Money."
We also seek to provide information to adults. By now, I hope many of you have seen
our public service announcement, launched last year. The theme is "There's a Lot to

-2-

Learn About Money" and it stars Chainnan Greenspan. Look for our "There's a Lot to
Learn About Money" pamphlet, in English and Spanish, on the Federal Reserve
education web site (www.FederaIReserveEducation.org).It·s filled with tips for taking
charge of your personal finances.
Finally, research is an important component of financial education. Ifwe are to
succeed in spreading financial knowledge, educators and others must empirically analyze
knowledge gaps and the results of their efforts to fill them. Fortunately, this body of
research is growing. To track it, the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago's Consumer and
Economic Development Research and Infonnation Center (CEDRIC) has created an
online repository for financial education and literacy research
(www.chicagofed.orglcedric/financial_education_research_ center.cfm).
The survey assessing high school students' financial knowledge that the
Jump$tart Coalition for Personal Financial Literacy is releasing today is a very useful
contribution to that research. Let me now turn to Dara Duguay, the coalition's executive
director, to give you a status report on the financial literacy movement in this country.